FIQ Reaffirms Its Confidence in the Solidarity Fund QFL

MONTREAL, Oct. 14 /CNW Telbec/ - The Solidarity Fund QFL (the "Fund") today announced the renewal of its agreement with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) to promote the Fund RRSP to its members, some 57,000 nurses and cardio-respiratory professionals in 158 health establishments across Québec. Renewed following the election of the FIQ's new president, the agreement has been in effect since 1997.

A sign of the FIQ's continued confidence in the Fund, the new agreement provides for increasing the number of local representatives (LR) in each establishment. LRs are employees who volunteer to act on behalf of the Fund in their workplace, providing information about saving and the Fund's RRSP. The agreement also includes a payroll deduction option, allowing FIQ members to contribute a fixed amount per pay to the Fund RRSP.

"We're very happy to continue offering our members direct access to a most profitable financial product for their retirement. For the last 12 years, since we first signed this agreement, our members have been benefiting from an RRSP that gives them 30% in tax credits while at the same time contributing to Québec's socioeconomic development," said FIQ President Régine Laurent.

Shareholders who contribute to the Fund RRSP automatically obtain tax credits of 30% from the Québec and federal governments as well as a reasonable return.

"We have developed a labour fund model that is unique in the world whose success hinges both on the convictions of workers who volunteer to promote it and on the willingness of employers to set up the mechanisms required for its operation. We're proud to count as one of our partners a union the size of the FIQ, whose values are similar to ours and who are truly concerned about their members' future," stated Solidarity Fund QFL Chairman of the Board of Directors and QFL President, Michel Arsenault.

Inter-union subscription agreements with non-QFL-affiliated unions

The Fund also recently renewed its RRSP promotion agreement with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), which represents some 170,000 members, including 100,000 in education. The Fund also has an agreement with the Confédération nationale des cadres du Québec (CNCQ), the largest grouping of management associations from the public and parapublic sectors and government agencies. Lastly, the Fund works closely with the Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec (SFPQ), a union with over 43,000 members in Québec.

An RRSP available to all workers

Of the Fund's 571,000 shareholders, 58% are unionized and 42% are not, proving that the Fund's RRSP is available to all workers.

A photo is available from the undersigned.

Pictured

The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) has renewed its agreement with the Solidarity Fund QFL, thereby encouraging its 57,000 members to take advantage of the tax credits and stable return offered by the Fund's RRSP. FIQ President Régine Laurent and Michel Arsenault, Chairman of the Solidarity Fund QFL and president of the QFL, sign the agreement, surrounded by FIQ Vice-President Carole Grant and the Solidarity Fund QFL team: Yvon Bolduc, President and CEO, René Roy, Board Secretary, Alain Desrochers, Subscription Development Coordinator, and Denis Leclerc, Executive Vice-President of Shareholder Services.

About the Solidarity Fund QFL

With net assets of $6.4 billion as at May 31, 2009, the Solidarity Fund QFL is a development capital company that through its RRSP channels the savings of Quebecers into investments in all sectors of the economy to help create and maintain jobs and to further Québec's economic growth. The Fund is a partner, either directly or through its network members, in 2,000 companies. It currently has nearly 571,000 shareholders and has helped, on its own or with other financial partners, to create, maintain and protect nearly 143,000 jobs. For more information, visit www.fondsftq.com.

For further information: The telephone number provided below is for the exclusive use of journalists and other media representatives. Source: Josée Lagacé, Senior Advisor, Press Relations and Communications, Fonds de solidarité FTQ, [phone]